Genetic disposition as well as the natural aging process and/or disease contribute to hair loss and slower hair growth in both males and females. Approximately 50% of the population displays this trait to some degree by the age of 50, and thinning of the hair can begin between 12 and 40 years of age independent of gender. Thus, agents able to stimulate hair growth as well as prevent and slow down or reduce hair loss could be beneficial not only to cure alopecia but to affect positively the psychosocial events associated with hair disorders. Studies reveal psychosocial impact with hair loss to include body image dissatisfaction associated with negative stereotypes, such as feeling older, weaker and less attractive.
Drugs, including Minoxidil (Rogaine), Finasteride (Propecia) and Dutasteride (Avodart) are approved treatments for hair loss. However, they may require medical prescription, and are active only on a certain percent of the population. Moreover, some of these drugs are not permitted to be used by females due to hormonal effects. For example, premenopausal women should not take Finesteride due to the risk of male pseudo-hermaphroditism to the fetus. Finasteride has been found to lower artificially the results of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, the standard screening test for prostate cancer which can delay the detection and the treatment of the disease.
Minoxidil is a topically applied drug that is effective in inducing hair growth for a subset of patients and will re-grow hair only on top of the scalp. Further, it has limited effect on older people. Minoxidil may slow the rate of hair loss in five out of ten male patients.
Other medical treatments available to treat hair loss include drastic surgical techniques such as scalp reduction, scalp flaps or follicular unit transplantation. These surgeries carry the risk of complications such as elevation of hairline associated with donor region, possibility of necrosis and unnatural appearance of hair growth direction, anesthesia and post-op care, not to mention high costs.
Herbal preparations that claim to induce hair growth (e.g. Hair Prime) are available at low cost but their effectiveness is very limited.
M. Herrmann et al. have described that a hydroalcoholic blackberry leaf extract (SymMatrix), exhibits the MMP-1, MMP-2, and MMP-9 inhibitory activity. (See, for example, US2008/0095719